Friday, May 16, 2008

A Storm on the Pacific

1895

The captain of a San Francisco tug thus describes a storm on the Pacific:

"When I say that the waves ran mountain high, I am not exaggerating the situation in the least. The tug would be poised on the crest of a sea and then be plunged down into a valley of water which seemed a mile below us. At times the moon would come out through the clouds, and in the uncertain light the waves seemed twice as high. The wind was blowing a perfect hurricane, and our lee rail was under water all the time. The angry sea appeared raging above, below and all around us, and nearly every wave into which we dipped would wash over the tug. It was impossible to remain aft, for the lower deck was flooded."

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